School cornered for withholding ‘O’ Level results

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum is seeking the release of “O” Level results for a student at Girls High School which are being withheld due to outstanding fees.

The student’s mother has failed to secure the daughter’s results compromising her chances of finding her a place to continue with her education.

In a letter dated February 19, 2016 addressed to the school’s head and copied to the Primary and Secondary Education ministry, the rights group said: “We are hereby instructed to write to your good offices challenging the withholding of our client’s results as a way of forcing her parents to pay the outstanding fees.

“The authorities’ conduct of using children as pawns to force payment is unlawful and unconstitutional as well as an abuse of authority on the part of the institution.”

The rights group further said there was no basis for the school to withhold the results because no valid legal steps or proceedings could be taken against a minor who has no contract with the school on issues of paying fees.

It gave the school 48 hours to release the results, warning that the conduct of the school was in violation of the child’s rights espoused in the Constitution.
Efforts to get a comment from the school yesterday proved futile as its phones were down.